Five months since the last post... not much going on, right?
I am opening up the old Blogger machine to let y’all know about something that has rocked my world: ChipDrop (https://getchipdrop.com/).
Are you cheap? I mean really cheap. Do you have a need for an IMMENSE amount of wood chips but are too cheap to pay for mulch? Do you like making small talk with neighbors who can’t walk by without remarking at the curiously large amount of work in front of you? Do you have an over-active HOA at which you would like to thumb your nose? Do you have an amazingly patient spouse who will let you take hours upon hours carting wheelbarrow-load after wheelbarrow-load of wood chips around your yard while she cares for your two small children? Well friend, ChipDrop might be right for you.
I’m not quite sure how I heard about ChipDrop -- the idea was somewhere in my subconscious -- but here’s what it is. You sign up on their website, and an arborist (tree cutting guy/gal) comes and drops a S***TON of wood chips on your property completely gratis. Free-99.
Of course, there are all kinds of catches. You don’t get to specify when you get your chips. You don’t get to specify the volume of chips you receive. You don’t get to specify what species of wood chips you receive. You might get a load with a lot of leaves or pine needles. You might get some logs mixed in (that is the one preference you can indicate when signing up). But again, IT’S FREE.
They tell you all of these things when you go to their website. They even have a couple funny videos that jokingly discourage you from signing up. It’s clear they’ve had a lot of folks caught unawares by the reality of what they were signing up for.
Another thing to get out of the way: many of the things you’ve heard about using random, run of the mill wood chips are mostly false. They’ll change the PH of your soil, they’ll suck the nitrogen out of your soil, they’re a fire hazard, they’ll attract termites and other bugs - All false. Want a research-based publication to learn more? Check out this link from Washington State University.
I signed up on May 29 and got my drop on June 8. I was working from home (thanks COVID-19), so I was able to move our cars out of the driveway. The guys pulled up on our street, dropped their chipper, backed their truck up, and dumped their load.
I don’t know the maximum volume of chips a typical wood chipper truck can contain, but I can’t imagine it could have been much more than this. The driver did a great job dumping it, leaving room to park one car in the driveway and only getting a minimal amount on my neighbor’s yard (our houses are really close together). I later received an email confirming my drop (as if the mountain of chips wasn’t confirmation enough) that told me the chipper crew was with Bloom Landscapes (http://www.bloomlandscapes.com/gallery/).
So a few observations about my experience:
I seemingly got a really high-quality drop. I got no pine needles and a minimal amount of leaves. I was fine with the leaves I got because I could use the added organic matter. Most of the chips were uniform size and shape. I got some sticks, but not that many. They warn on the website that there might be trash, but I only got a water bottle and a coke can in my mountain of chips. And a beetle as long as my pinkie finger.
I had a lot of area that I wanted to cover. I mulched the existing areas in my front yard, added a ring around a tree, and created a bed around my mailbox, and that barely touched it. I mulched a big bed in the back yard and ended up creating new beds around most of the perimeter of my backyard and along my deck. I also mulched my raised beds and mounded up some chips for future use. After all of this, I still had about 3 pickup truck beds remaining.
Which leads me to my next point. If you’re interested in ChipDrop, but you don’t need a S***TON of wood chips, confirm with your neighbors or friends before you sign up that they are ready, willing, and able to take some of your drop. We have a *very* active neighborhood Facebook group that is constantly posting about free plants, and they get snapped up immediately. My wife used her best comedy gold (Gold, Jerry, GOLD!) on the group, but only one neighbor came with a pickup truck. Luckily, my dad was able and interested in taking the last couple truckloads of chips.
Another note-- on the website, the ChipDrop people post about the mold that grows in piles of chips/mulch. This is something I experienced in my drop. While I was exposed to it over several days of work, I didn’t have breathing problems, but I did have a reaction similar to seasonal allergies (sneezing, runny nose, etc). If you’re naturally susceptible to breathing problems, you’ll definitely want to wear a mask of some kind.
So, the bottom line-- I had a good experience, and I would recommend it. Are there a lot of people who complain on their Facebook page? Your fault for reading the comments. Is it right for everyone? Definitely not. Was it right for me? You betcha. I couldn’t be happier with the results in my yard.
Check out how I used my chips in the video below:
 |
| Happy Little Flower |
I am opening up the old Blogger machine to let y’all know about something that has rocked my world: ChipDrop (https://getchipdrop.com/).
I’m not quite sure how I heard about ChipDrop -- the idea was somewhere in my subconscious -- but here’s what it is. You sign up on their website, and an arborist (tree cutting guy/gal) comes and drops a S***TON of wood chips on your property completely gratis. Free-99.
 |
| Like I said, it’s a S***TON of wood chips. |
They tell you all of these things when you go to their website. They even have a couple funny videos that jokingly discourage you from signing up. It’s clear they’ve had a lot of folks caught unawares by the reality of what they were signing up for.
Another thing to get out of the way: many of the things you’ve heard about using random, run of the mill wood chips are mostly false. They’ll change the PH of your soil, they’ll suck the nitrogen out of your soil, they’re a fire hazard, they’ll attract termites and other bugs - All false. Want a research-based publication to learn more? Check out this link from Washington State University.
I signed up on May 29 and got my drop on June 8. I was working from home (thanks COVID-19), so I was able to move our cars out of the driveway. The guys pulled up on our street, dropped their chipper, backed their truck up, and dumped their load.
I don’t know the maximum volume of chips a typical wood chipper truck can contain, but I can’t imagine it could have been much more than this. The driver did a great job dumping it, leaving room to park one car in the driveway and only getting a minimal amount on my neighbor’s yard (our houses are really close together). I later received an email confirming my drop (as if the mountain of chips wasn’t confirmation enough) that told me the chipper crew was with Bloom Landscapes (http://www.bloomlandscapes.com/gallery/).
 |
| Not my yard. Wish it was, though! Evidently, it’s the work of the Bloom Landscapes folks who dropped my chips. |
I seemingly got a really high-quality drop. I got no pine needles and a minimal amount of leaves. I was fine with the leaves I got because I could use the added organic matter. Most of the chips were uniform size and shape. I got some sticks, but not that many. They warn on the website that there might be trash, but I only got a water bottle and a coke can in my mountain of chips. And a beetle as long as my pinkie finger.
 |
| Say hello to my little friend! |
Which leads me to my next point. If you’re interested in ChipDrop, but you don’t need a S***TON of wood chips, confirm with your neighbors or friends before you sign up that they are ready, willing, and able to take some of your drop. We have a *very* active neighborhood Facebook group that is constantly posting about free plants, and they get snapped up immediately. My wife used her best comedy gold (Gold, Jerry, GOLD!) on the group, but only one neighbor came with a pickup truck. Luckily, my dad was able and interested in taking the last couple truckloads of chips.
So, the bottom line-- I had a good experience, and I would recommend it. Are there a lot of people who complain on their Facebook page? Your fault for reading the comments. Is it right for everyone? Definitely not. Was it right for me? You betcha. I couldn’t be happier with the results in my yard.
Check out how I used my chips in the video below:
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